dvi to hdmi, replaces vga cable

[Pittsburgher]

Not sure where to put this question so I picked this one. Feel free to move it.   I have a video card that has the dvi and standard vga. I did have the vga cable running to a 42 inch hi def tv. I replaced the cable with a dvi on one end and hdmi on the other end. Now when I turn on my tv all I get is a blue screen. No background, no icons. I went into the display properties and can't find any way to change it to dvi.  I set my tv menu to dvi and still no good.  Any ideas?  Thanks in advance.

[Merlin33069]

hook it back up so you can see your computer.

Right click on the desktop, click on properties (xp) or personalize (vista)

go to settings (xp) or display settings (vista)

you may see two boxes, one should be black the other should be greyed out, click the one that is greyed out, this represents the unused port on your videocard

down below select where it says extend my desktop onto this monitor, and click apply

after a few seconds things should be back to normal (if a window asks you to save settings press yes)

you should be able to switch cables and get the display on your tv, just the background though

to make it display the whole desktop you need to switch the cables back

go back to settings if you closed it

click on the secondary monitor box

and click where it says this is my main monitor

this may be tricky as the screen will go black

you have about 20 seconds to change the cable and press save settings (or you can press enter before changing cables)

and presto, you should have fixed your problem

[Pittsburgher]

Thanks Merlin. I'll give that a try tomorrow afternoon. Might need to ask the wifey for some help to make the connection before the change.  Now is this even worth it in your opinion? Will I get a better picture using a hdmi and the dvi compared to a standard vga?  Will it be that much better?  Thanks Merlin

[Merlin33069]

Yes, dvi and hdmi are better then vga when it comes to video quality




OFFTOPIC
Funny story, My brother got a ps3, its hooked up through svideo, and it displays better then the xbox 360 using component

ps3 - 720p

xbox360 1080p

WTF??

[Pittsburgher]

OK Merlin, I guess I should have mentioned my OS first. XP media center.  Now when I right click on desktop and go to properties, The only settings there are screen resoluttion which is at 1920 x 1080 and color , troubleshoot, and advanced.  I can't find anywhere I can extend my monitor.   Maybe the controls will be in the video card control panel?   It's ge force 8400 gs 512..    IDEAS?   Am I missing something?

[Pittsburgher]

Hey Merlin,
  After I plugged both cables in and went to the settings tab I got the 2 monitors. I did as you said and all I can get is the background. Now Start menu or icons.   

[Merlin33069]

ok, further in the tutorial I said that you also have to click the button that says this is my main monitor

if you do this and you still dont have a startbar on your dvi cable, let me know

[Pittsburgher]

Sorry Merlin,
  I should have stated that I did follow thru with all the steps. I out and brought them to the living room and followed step by step.   After I checked the 2nd monitor as my primary I restarted and unplugged the vga.  After it rebooted I switched my tv to hdmi and there was my background. No icons, when I tried to right click it wouldn't work. Don't know Merlin, might be more trouble than it's worth.   Any more ideas?  Or maybe I missed something? 

[Merlin33069]

are they both plugged in at the same time? or are you switching back and forth?

either way, you restarted your computer yes? does your computer auto login?

if your computer does not auto login, then your pc may be stuck with the login prompt on the other screen

IF this is the case, then login, and go back to properties, again, and click on the origional monitor, and uncheck where it says extend my desktop onto this monitor

if your computer does auto login then let me know and i will give you another idea or two

if you need to go on, please dont forget to answer my question

[Pittsburgher]

My system does auto login.  Someone else inquired if my icons are on the far side of my screen.  And since the resolution is so high it may be hiding the start and the icons. Tomorrow I'm gonna try and place my icons near the center and try again. Or adjust my resolution.  Thoughts?   Appreciate all the time and help here Merlin.

[Merlin33069]

ah, i like helping out

so next would be turn off the extend my desktop onto this monitor option on the first one

[Pittsburgher]

Got it Merlin. In my Nvidia control panel there's an option to " resize my desktop" Made it a bit smaller and all is good. Resolution set at 1920 x 1080. Awesome picture!  It's all good.   Thanks for your help. Problem resolved.   Thread closed.